State remains paralyzed by winter storm

Northern Virginia remains paralyzed by this weekend’s winter storm while thousands of homes are without power and plows continue to dig out roadways.

The storm dumped more than 30 inches of snow in some parts of the region. State government offices in Northern Virginia are closed, and many businesses were forced to remain closed.

The Virginia Department of Transportation estimates it will remove 500,000 tons of snow in Northern Virginia. Crews are racing to plow all roads before another winter storm is expected to drop another five to 10 inches of snow on Tuesday.

VDOT is encouraging motorists to remain at home. It has sent plows that were clearing snow in Hampton Roads and Richmond to the region to assist with snow removal.

Dominion Virginia Power reported that it had restored power to 271,000 of 287,000 customers who lost power during the storm. The company’s goal is to restore power to 98 percent of those who lost it by Monday night and the remaining customers to be restored by Tuesday night. Most customers who lost power were in the Charlottesville and Northern Virginia regions.

The Northern Virginia Electric Cooperative said it will continue to restore power to homes, but progress has been hampered by high winds and freezing temperatures.